Silent World

by Natalie Warren

  "I hope you know what you're doing," Der chuckled and the moved a short distance away from Kyle's door, sitting down and leaning their backs against the wall. Der put an arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Because if Kyle finds out…"

  "I don't care," Elaise grumbled. "He hurt my best friend. I'm going to make his life miserable."

  Der laughed and Elaise made herself comfortable. She frowned when she thought of Raven again and she sighed. Der noticed. "What's wrong?"

  "Do you think Raven will be okay?" she asked quietly. "I keep thinking that Jason's blood… I've done my share of study! I know that it's dangerous to put the blood of a werewolf into a human. Jason's blood might kill her."

  "I know it's a dangerous procedure, but it's all we've got," Der whispered. "Raven's vital organs were severely damaged and if Jason's blood cells can't repair them, she'll die regardless."

  Elaise cuddled up to the blonde boy. "I told Raven we should come to this school because it would be safe from her dad. Now she's facing death… For the past few weeks I've been a complete bitch to her, believing Brittany's stupid rumors. If Raven dies…"

  "You better not be blaming yourself for this," Der said firmly. "It's not your fault. Whatever happens now, you're not the cause. It was Boulder who bit her."

  "I know," Elaise mumbled. "I'm just so worried. I don't want to lose my best friend."

  "Let's just keep positive for now," Der suggested.

  They sat in silence for the next ten minutes and Elaise was almost falling asleep by the time Eliza arrived with her friends, and the frame. Jake appeared with three other boys and Der helped the brunette to her feet.

  Elaise had been introduced to the girls earlier. She recognized Autumn, the beautiful redhead that put Rover in front of Jason. She had dazzling brown eyes and her hair shaped her face perfectly. Gwen had strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. Faith and Elena both shared pale green eyes, but Faith had bright purple hair while Elena had electric blue.

  Jake's friends were Lupo, Cheveyo and Lyall. Lupo had dark hair with gray eyes that beamed with mischief. Cheveyo had black spiked hair and Lyall was a blonde like Der. All of them looked ready for whatever challenge they were going to be put up to.

  Elaise looked at the frame; five feet wide and three feet tall. It was perfect. "Take it into the room," she said to the girls. "You boys wait out here and keep watch."

  "Gotcha," Jake nodded and handed her a black marker. She took it from him and followed the girls into Kyle's room again. They went to the bedroom and when instructed, Elaise watched as Eliza and her friends put the frame face down on the floor, taking the back off.

  "Now what?" Gwen asked.

  "Now, we have fun," Elaise grinned and searched for Kyle's underwear drawer. When she found it, the girls exchanged glances as Elaise picked out a few of the best and neatly arranged them over the glass.

  "You want to put this in the dining hall?" Faith exclaimed, almost bursting into laughter. "Kyle is going to be so embarrassed!"

  "Good," Elaise snorted and grabbed a pair of white underwear, popping the lid off the black marker and writing on the fabric. The girls giggled and Elaise put the marker away when she was finished, putting the white pair in the center of her display.

  They put the backing on it again, minding the string attached used for hanging, and pressed it down, clipping it on so nothing would fall when they picked the frame up. The bell rang for next class and they lifted it off the floor. Elaise sprayed the room as they walked back out, shutting the door and spraying it again so Kyle would never catch their scents.

  When the display was shown to the boys, they all tried to contain their fits of laughter but failed. Lupo caught his breath just enough to speak. "You're insane! This is going to be the best prank played on anyone this year!"

  "You boys keep watch ahead so no one sees us," Eliza said and the boys nodded, running ahead. The werewolf girls insisted they would be fine carrying the frame so Elaise walked behind them, spraying their trail to erase all scents. When they reached the now-empty hallway, she stopped covering their tracks and they rushed through the building. The boys made sure not to go too far ahead and it was a clear path the whole way to the hall.

  Cheveyo and Lyall checked the hall for any of the cooks and when they saw no one, they ushered the others inside. They all looked around for the best place to put it and Elaise quickly pointed to the end of the room where a hook was, two people high.

  "Everyone will see it as soon as they walk in," she told them. "The problem is just getting it up there."

  "No worries," Elena smiled. "Boys, Eliza and I need a lift up."

  They moved to the end of the hall and Elaise blinked as Faith and Gwen held the frame. Lupo and Der grave Elena a foot up, holding her feet and balancing her with their arms up straight. Elaise was surprised they were able to do that, but she had to remind herself they were werewolves and they had incredible strength.

  Jake and Lyall held their hands out and Eliza delicately grabbed their shoulders and jumped up, putting her feet on their hands. They lifted her up and it reminded Elaise of cheerleaders.

  Faith and Gwen held the frame up and the two girls up high took it. They balanced perfectly and gently hung the frame on the hook. When they declared it was hung safely, the boys let their arms drop. Elena landed on her feet and Jake caught Eliza in his arms. Elaise blinked when she saw them lock eyes and Eliza smiled with rosy cheeks as Jake put her back on her feet.

  "That's a job well done," Cheveyo commented as they backed up and inspected their display, seeing the nice pair of white underwear in the middle with the words "Kyle's Victoria's Secret Collection" written on them in black.

  "It looks so amazing, I think I'm going to cry," Elaise pretended to wipe fake tears from her eyes.

  "I agree," Eliza giggled. "But now we have to get to class before we get caught."

  Everyone agreed they would show up for dinner to see the reaction and they fled from the dining hall. Der, Elaise and Eliza quickly made their way out to the oval and joined their Physical Education class. The teacher told the to run two laps of the oval and they all shot off.

  Elaise found it a lot easier to run the two laps now that she had grown used to the school over the weeks. Her body had developed well to the P.E lessons and she was quite capable to keep up with everyone else.

  After their warm up, the teacher split them up into two groups and told them they were going to play soccer. Elaise smiled but frowned when she discovered she didn't have the energy. She was exhausted after her lack of sleep the night before thanks to the vampires.

  "Is there a problem, Elaise?" the teacher asked as he gave the soccer ball to the captain of the other team. He noticed her doubling over, trying to stop her head from spinning.

  "I didn't sleep well last night, sir," she answered with a frown.

  "Ah, yes," he nodded. "The headmaster spoke to me about that. Go sit down and rest."

  So her P.E teacher was a werewolf too, she thought and sat on the sidelines, furthest from the forest. Der got permission from the teacher to sit with her and she leaned on him, closing her eyes. They said nothing as the class began their game and Elaise felt herself dozing off to sleep. She snapped back awake as the scream sounded in her ears again and she looked out at the class.

  "Stephanie should be here," she whispered and Der put an arm around her.

  "I know," he murmured. "But there was nothing we could do. It was lucky that we managed to save you and Raven."

  Elaise focused on her breathing. "I want to go see her."

  "Alright," he mumbled. "Wait here."

  Der got back to his feet and approached the teacher, whispering in his ear. As soon as the older man nodded, Der came back and helped Elaise to her feet. They were about to walk off but the blonde sniffed and spun around. Elaise glanced over her shoulder and bit back a scream when she saw the golden eyes among the ferns in the forest, decorated by a huge head. It was Boulder, she thought as the
beast drew back his only ear after Jason tore the other one off.

  Der rushed back to the sidelines of the class' game and called Eliza over. The black haired girl approached him and Elaise heard him tell her to watch the borders. Eliza looked over to the forest and frowned when she spotted Boulder, slipping back into the shadows. She nodded to Der and he rejoined Elaise, leading her towards the building again.

  They reached the sick bay soon enough and Jason was still sitting on the floor, staring at the curtain. "Your brother is back," Der mumbled and Elaise expected Jason to jump up and go racing off into the forest… But he didn't move. "Eliza is watching the border."

  "He won't get Raven again," Jason said simply.

  "I know," Der sat down beside his friend. Elaise dumped her bag on the floor and sat on his lap. She felt her cheeks burn but she leaned back against his chest, reminding herself that she had more experience in relationships than Raven did.

  "Any news?" Elaise asked.

  "Not yet," Jason frowned. "Miss Clarence is worried she might be in a coma."

  Elaise chewed her lip and Der wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. "I hope not."

  Jason agreed and Der decided to tell the green-eyed boy about the prank they were pulling on Kyle. He told Jason it was all Elaise's evil scheme and Elaise protested, telling him she wasn't the Devil's helper and that even God's subjects sinned every once in a while.

  Jason let out a small breathy laugh from his nose but showed no other amusement. The brunette watched him carefully but he never took his eyes from the curtain. Elaise wondered what was going to happen when Raven woke up. How would the two of them react to each other? Would Raven be pleased to see him or would she be scared?

  They spent the rest of the day with Jason but by the time it was almost dinner, Elaise dropped her bag off at her dorm and made her way down to the dining hall. Der chose to stay with Jason and keep him company.

  Elaise walked in with a few other students and everyone seemed to notice the display immediately. She listened as the entire hall was in hysterics, almost falling from their seats in fits of laughter, pointing up at the display and taking pictures. Elaise grinned and walked over to the food bays, grabbing a tray and some utensils. She picked a simple meal of shaved pork, mashed potato and mixed vegetables. She looked around to decide where to sit but Eliza called her over. Elaise joined the black hair girl along with their other scheming companions. She sat in between Lupo and Faith and they all wore grins on their faces as the hall echoed with laughter.

  "We did good," Lupo sneered. "You have great ideas, Elaise."

  "Thanks," she smiled. "I wonder if Kyle trapped himself in his bedroom."

  "Knowing him; probably," Jake nodded and lightly elbowed Eliza. "At least everyone's getting a good laugh."

  Elaise ate dinner with the others, making jokes about pulling another prank on Kyle after he saw what they did to him this time. She kept an eye on the door and looked down as Kyle entered.

  "Here we go," Autumn mumbled and Elaise risked a glance up, seeing Kyle's face as he noticed his underwear on the wall. Everyone laughed louder and Kyle's face became bright red with embarrassment and anger.

  "We didn't know you wanted to be a model!" one of his friends jeered.

  "Sexy!" another wolf-whistled.

  "Why didn't you tell us?"

  Comments flew all around the room and the people at Elaise's table were trying their best to contain themselves. Kyle silenced them all with a loud snarl. "Who did this?!" he roared, his eyes blazing with fury.

  Elaise blinked as Der suddenly ran into the room. Kyle spun around to glare at him and Der skidded to a stop in front of him. The blonde boy slowly stepped away from the angry puppy and made his way over to Elaise and the others.

  "He is pissed!" Der commented.

  "We know," Lyall grinned. "It's hilarious!"

  Der chuckled. "But you guys have to come. Raven's waking up!"

  The Truth

  23. The truth

  Raven grumbled as her head slowly started to pound and she cracked her eyes open when she heard voices whispering to one another. Her vision was blurry and she had to blink a couple of times before it started to become clear.

  Then she remembered everything.

  She sat up quickly with a yelp and tried to jump away from whatever she was laying on. Hands grabbed and she screamed as they pushed her back down and panic rose up in her chest. What was happening?!

  "Raven!" she paused for a moment as the voice registered in her mind. She breathed deeply and looked up, seeing Elaise standing beside her. "It's okay, Rich. Calm down."

  "Where am I?" the blonde asked.

  "You're safe and sound back at White Grass, my dear," she turned her head and saw the school doctor, Miss Clarence. "No need to worry anymore about those horrible creatures."

  Raven nodded slowly but her hands instinctively went to her stomach, groping around for the bite mark she received from Boulder. Hands gently rested over hers and she looked up to see Jason.

  "You don't have any injuries anymore," he told her.

  "Why?" she glanced around at everyone standing back with Eliza, Der and Jake. Were they all werewolves?

  "Boulder's teeth pierced certain organs that you needed to live," Miss Clarence explained as Raven slowly sat up. "We took the chance to use Jason's blood to heal your wounds. Remarkably, it worked!"

  "How are you feeling?" Eliza asked.

  "Better," Raven admitted. "What happened back there?"

  "We showed up and kicked ass!" the golden-eyed girl grinned.

  Raven forced a smile but it faded when she looked up at Jason again. "You lied to me," she whispered. "You told me you were adopted."

  Jason's face fell and he shook his head. "No, no, no! I didn't lie, Rich. I swear I didn't! What I told you was all true."

  "When Elaise figured it all out, you told me you weren't a werewolf. You could have come clean then…"

  Jason chewed his lip. "Please give me a chance to explain."

  Miss Clarence cut in quickly. "Raven needs to get something to eat first. Why don't you take her to the dining hall for some dinner?"

  Elaise nodded to Jason and he sighed, stepping back. Raven slowly got to her feet but she quickly discovered she wasn't in her earlier clothes. She was wearing a black singlet with gray shorts. She guessed her other clothes, including Jason's shirt, were unable to be saved.

  The group left the sick bay after thanking Miss Clarence and Raven kept to Jason's side. He looked upset after her accusations and she bit her lip, feeling guilty. She raised her hand and lightly touched his, worried he would reject her. Instead, he wrapped his hand around hers and looked down at her.

  "I'm really sorry," he muttered. "For ignoring you all week and not telling you the truth sooner."

  "It's okay," she struggled to find her voice. "I just need an explanation so I'm not so confused."

  "I'll explain everything later," he promised.

  Raven nodded. "Jason?"

  "Hmm?"

  "Who won?"

  He blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

  She focused on walking straight and looked at the ground. "Who won? You or Kyle?"

  He couldn't help but grin as they walked down the hallways. "Speed told you, didn't he?" Raven nodded. "Well you don't have to worry. Kyle has no right to touch you now."

  "So you have claim on me?" she asked.

  "Yes."

  Raven nodded once and they made their way to the dining hall. Jason had to help her as she stumbled, feeling her world spin sickeningly. When they walked into the hall, Raven's eyes caught on the giant frame at the back of the room as teachers worked to bring it down, having to use a ladder to reach it. She had to blink at it a couple of times as she read the words written in the middle and she turned to Elaise.

  "What did you do?"

  Elaise looked insulted. "Why do you automatically think it was me?!" Raven raised an eyebrow at her and Elaise sighed. "Fine! I just thought I
'd have some fun. These guys helped me do it." She gestured to the werewolves around her.

  "Except for Jason," Der added. "He sat on the floor in the sick bay all day until you woke up. He refused to leave you."

  Raven looked up at the green-eyed boy questioningly but Jason ducked his head, tightening his hand over hers. Eliza cut in with a giggle. "Jason, why don't you get something for Raven and yourself? We'll take her to the table."

  Jason nodded and let the blonde's hand go. Raven was herded over to the usual table where the werewolves sat. Elaise sat on one side of her, leaving a spare seat on her other side for Jason.